December 20, 2009

Suddenly Homeless
Family of seven finds help and hope, but they’re not alone in their struggle

By Keri Brenner
The Chronicle

     Neither Billy Davis nor Angie Fowler, a couple for 10 years and parents of five children under age 8, were in the habit of asking for help or handouts before they arrived in The Dalles in September without jobs or a home.
     “We never had been ones to ask anyone for anything,” said Davis, 31. “It was a culture shock to come here and be homeless.”
     Sadly, they are not the only ones. As the recession continues, Davis and Fowler, 40, are two of many formerly stable heads of households stunned to find themselves, for the first time, a part of a rising number of homeless citizens. As Davis and Fowler discovered, there are many like themselves living amongst us – often unnoticed. But, as they also found out, Wasco County agencies, residents and even strangers have an enormous capacity for generosity.
     “I don’t think we ever gave up hope, because Angie was always there,” said Fowler, referring to Angie Prasch, a case manager at Mid-Columbia Community Action Council in The Dalles. Prasch worked with Bill Larson, disability program navigator at Mid-Columbia Council of Governments, to find nonprofit resources for the Davis family — including food and gas vouchers, warm clothing and eventually permanent housing.
     Many others helped too.
     “We were out collecting cans and bottles on a hillside in The Dalles one day with the kids, and a man came out of his house, walked up the hill, and said, ‘Come with me,’” Davis recalled. “When we got to his house, he handed us three big black plastic bags full of his own collection of cans and bottles.”

     In Wasco County, the demand for housing and related services has risen an estimated 25 to 30 percent since the recession started, according to Jim Slusher, director of Mid-Columbia Community Action Council. In the past year, Wasco County has experienced a 20 percent jump in new applications for food stamps, the state Department of Human Services reports.
     Slusher said the homeless count, an annual one-day survey conducted in January, will offer the most up-to-date statistics on the local homeless population. However, a recent poll by North Wasco County School District No. 21 found 80 children attending school in the district were homeless, forced to “couch-surf” among friends’ and relatives’ residences.
     Corenne Stewart, Community Action’s housing case manager, said one need, especially during the recent cold snap, has not been met: The Dalles has no overnight shelter facilities, either in churches or social service agencies.
     “The Salvation Army used to operate a warming shelter, but they don’t anymore,” Stewart said. “There is no warm place to go in The Dalles.”
     Community Action does operate a transitional housing complex where people live for several months to a year. Some agencies, such as St. Vincent de Paul, provide vouchers for motel stays on the coldest nights. Several groups provide regular community dinners. St. Vincent de Paul also offers breakfast every weekday from 9:15 a.m. to 11 a.m.
     “In rural counties, the homeless are more invisible,” said Chad Dahl, case manager at Community Action. “They’re not out there panhandling like they are in Portland or Seattle.”
     Stewart said homelessness can happen very quickly – sometimes within three weeks of a late rent payment. She was able to assist client Larry Barker in finding an apartment and a job at a fast-food restaurant in recent months after Barker was homeless for almost two years.
     “I was camping out at Chenowith Creek under the bridge,” said Barker, 52. “A lot of people who were there just gave up and chased the bottle.”
     Like Prasch was for the Davises, Stewart was the anchor of support for Barker, he said.
     “It ain’t easy, but I got through it,” he said. “Every time I got twisted up, Corenne was there for me.”
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     For several years, Davis and Fowler had enjoyed a reasonably comfortable home and lifestyle in Toppenish, Yakima County, Wash., where Davis had worked as a parks and recreation employee in the city’s public works department. That ended in the spring, when city downsized due to a budget crunch. Davis, a seasonal employee, was laid off and unable to qualify for unemployment benefits.
     In September, they set off for The Dalles to stay with Fowler’s mother in a senior trailer park and look for work. Two weeks later, their temporary housing exhausted, all seven were sleeping in a SUV trailer at Celilo campground and collecting empty cans and bottles during the day for food and gas money.
     Every day, they would drive the 20 miles round-trip to take their two oldest children to school. When they got back, the trailer would have a notice tacked to it, telling them it was an abandoned vehicle and they would have to move it. Davis said it was hard for him to look for work without having an address and lacking the ability to take a shower.
     “We came down here when it was still warm, so we left our warm clothes in storage,” Fowler said. “We didn’t expect to come here and be homeless.”
     From then until last weekend, when they finally moved into a federally subsidized rental home, Davis and Fowler say they only survived day-to-day with the aid of numerous residents in The Dalles.
     In addition to regular support from Prasch and Larson, Chenowith Elementary School staff “asked us every day if we had enough food,” Fowler said. Her two oldest — Taime, 8, and Sebastian, 6 — attend Chenowith. The other three — Fallon, 5, Morgun, 2, and Jasper, 1 — stay with her.
     During the extreme cold weather earlier this month, St. Vincent de Paul provided the family with vouchers for three nights’ stay in a hotel, Fowler said. After that, Prasch was able to get the family on food stamps, public assistance of $971 monthly and transitional housing at a nonprofit-run complex in The Dalles.
     In the luckiest jump over bureaucratic hurdles, Prasch found a rare open spot in a federal Office of Housing and Urban Development program that offers rental subsidies. With the help of a local property management firm enlisted by Prasch, the Davis family found a four-bedroom home with a landlord who accepts HUD. They will pay 30 percent of their income for rent, with HUD paying the rest.
     “The next step is looking for work,” Davis said. “I’m looking at gas stations, anything — I’ll even shovel out a stable.”

Want to help?

     For information on making donations to the Davis family, including home furnishings and clothing, contact Angie Prasch, Mid-Columbia Community Action, (541) 298-5131 ext. 205, 312 E. Fourth St., The Dalles, OR 97058, or e-mail at angiep@mccac.com.

     The public is invited to attend a Homeless Persons’ Candlelight Vigil and Memorial Service Monday, Dec. 21 at 5:15 p.m., on the front steps of the Wasco County Courthouse, 511 Washington St., The Dalles.
     Sponsors include Wasco County Court, the city of The Dalles, Mid-Columbia Health Services, Mid-Columbia Community Action and American Legion Post 19.
     The event is planned in conjunction with national and state observances. Both The Dalles and Wasco County officials have issued proclamations declaring Monday — the first day of winter and the longest day of the year —Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, remembering those who have died without homes and urging communities to take action to prevent such deaths in the future.